Pollywog's Log of Life

So I continued with my Energy for Life course today. The previous modules I did were all about recognizing where I am, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The module I completed today and the next one after are all about making changes in your life which lead toward the life you want to live. Of course, defining the life I want to live is difficult as is recognizing where I stand currently on all four fronts mentioned above. There are pressures pushing down from society, friends, family, and work that are hard to block out when addressing my own issues. The part that makes it scary is that life will continue on whether you're present or not, so the longer you take to figure all these things out, the less time you have to enjoy life . You're probably thinking, but it's all about the journey not the destination! And I say to you, of course it's about the journey, but having a destination keeps me motivated. The super hard part is trying to figure out both...

Mmm, a great night sleep is hard to beat. I'm sitting in my backyard with a cup of coffee though it's still dark with many clouds in the sky. I can hear the cars of the freeway which means traffic is moving. It feels warmer than yesterday though clouds usually keep more warmth in. I did more of my energy for life class yesterday which covered some topics like what are the stories in you life that aren't leading you along the right path? What stories do you tell yourself are true when really they're based on the past and no longer apply? I also learned about two other topics, using stress to grow and multitasking. I don't multitask often as I already know about myself I'm less productive when tackling multiple things. The other perspective is how effective I can be when giving one task my full attention. That makes so much sense, yet is hard to keep that at the forefront of my mind when there are other distractions and pressures. As for using stress to grow, ...

Today I attended the kickoff for a course called energy for life. It's all about energy management which apparently has been around for some time. Everyone wishes they had more time yet...it's finite...only 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and so on. Energy is a bit more tricky though it's safe to bet there is plenty of it and can be restored in many ways, i.e. a good night's rest. I don't have problems with sleep though I'm sure I could handle my energy better resulting in a happier me. This is the beginning though, I've got to keep motivation up. That's all for today, we took out some portals which definitely helped my mood, yay. Yummy leftover soup for dinner and now some cool dreams. Talk soon

So I finally  finished the sweater I was working on. It only took me 10 weeks! Unfortunately for my blog (and you readers) I am pretty terrible with remembering to take pictures especially ones that look good and web/blog worthy. Plus, I haven't blocked the sweater yet, so although it's completed, it's not quite at it's final stage. Several weeks ago I got a package from my aunt who is an avid knitter. We had chatted over email about knitting and I was excited to tell her about the sweater I was making. She was really excited about me getting into knitting and told me about some purple alpaca yarn she wanted to send me to make a scarf or mittens. I was really excited about that not only because it's great yarn but purple is my favorite color of all time. I gladly accepted her gift and thanked her (multiple times). The extra awesome surprise was she decided to send along a couple knitting books with her package. One is a stitch dictionary (woohoo!) which is great f...

So I realize I haven't written in a while..my bad. There are just so many things on my list of I-really-want-to-do-this that writing just hasn't happened. What's funny is I should really be blogging about everything I'm doing right? Would make sense..alas..I get carried away and forget. This morning I've been organizing/exploring what Google has to offer. First it was organizing my Drive files because there were so many random and unnamed ones it was driving me crazy. Next I discovered that there is a Google Scripts app for google drive. I haven't done much with it yet but it may come in handy. After that I went to check out the communities I'm a part of on Google+. I'm part of three right now and searching for others that spark my interest. I'm trying to be more interactive online only because it is a great way to share knowledge. As for my blog, hopefully I can write more often even if it's just to update on the projects I'm doing. O...

I'm curious who else I know is a part of  Ravelry ....? I don't know too many other people who knit, only that there are lots of us out there. My username on there is theladyhat  and I'm part of some groups but I know there are tons out there. Here's some of the most recent stuff I've knitted: For my sis slouchy hat warm socks for my mom The socks are my second pair and although I love them, they take forever to make. So for now I'm working on smaller things that don't take so long and I get a little more instant gratification.

Early morning is probably one of my favorite times of the day if not the favorite. It's fall which means it's getting cooler and we've been having fog in the mornings. I don't know what it is, but fog gives off this eerie feeling but at the same time I imagine it to be an eye cover for mother nature. She's waking up and can't just open her eyes quickly, the fog has to rise up and slowly burn off until everything is visible. I went star gazing recently and slept out on the bed of a truck. It was a great night for it because there was no moon and all the stars came out. What I liked even better was waking up shortly after the break of dawn, sunrise was 7:08am. I usually wake up at around 7:00am so time wise this wasn't too different. There's something about sleeping outside without windows to block light that just changes the experience. Most days I would love to have my bedroom window face east so I can wake up with the sun. I feel morning is a better tim...

Coffee in the mornings Job searching when I can Knitting amazing projects for others Getting back in shape Reading Having fun Enjoying life Trying to stay up to date on news Not eating so much These are just some of the things I think about everyday. There are more I'm sure but every time I try to sit down and write they all flood in and I can't figure out exactly what my fingers should be typing. I like to just start writing and go from there but even doing that seems to be beyond me these days. I do feel bad I haven't been writing but this has been my dilemma recently.  Part of me has been thinking about switching the theme of my blog. Some ideas are to make it solely a project/craft blog, so only updates on my knitting or other projects I get done. The problem with this idea is that I'm already a member on  Ravelry  and thus just repeating what's already on my page there.  That's the main idea I have for changing the theme of my blog,...

It's been so long! I've been on the go packing everything up, then driving across the country, and now that all my stuff is in one place again I can breath a little. It's nice knowing I won't be starting classes and I won't need to buy more textbooks. It's now my full time job to find  a job. There are some perks to this job, I can take breaks whenever I want. Granted I have to stay focused but there's no wardrobe requirement beyond t-shirts and shorts. So far on the job search I am trying to hone the best keywords for finding a job with my qualifications. It's helpful that John is looking for something similar because I can bounce ideas off him and him I. What I have found interesting is that I'm not sure employers know they need a statistician. I'll find postings which describe my qualifications but don't have the title of statistician, it's pretty interesting. Statistics is one of those fields that can be applied to almost anything, ...

I read the Zits comic yesterday, and it got me thinking about how our generation works. Here's the comic strip:  Zits July 22,2012 . It's so true too. I know it's nice to be able to text someone where you are, update them on your plans, and keep them in the know...but I would wear out quickly if I got texts like this comic all the time. I wish we behaved more like people before our generation, as in, we know our plans for the day and could tell anyone where we'll be and when, and that won't change. Obviously plans change, but not that much, and they only change if you're the one motivated to change them. I can't say that I plan out everyday to a tee, but I definitely do when I meet up with people or friends. If I make plans to see someone at 2pm at such and such a place, I'm going to be there at 2pm waiting for you. I don't understand when people make plans like this and then text each other, up until they both reach their meeting spot, things like ...

I got up this morning, looked out the window, and everything was wet from rain! It's a little exciting only because it's been so warm here the past couple weeks. Remember that storm couple weeks ago that knocked people's power out? Well I was fortunate and only had to deal with it overnight. I know there are people still without power, I can't quite image how I would be dealing with it if it were me. It was fun for me because we lit some candles and had flashlights. We played a board game with our friends, went to bed, and all was well in the morning. I'm not so sure it would be that fun had it lasted longer. The point is that we also had about a week's worth of heat advisories. So try and imagine the power going out AND dealing with sweltering heat without fans or AC...not very cool. I do have some fans set up today, to get some circulation and new air into the apartment. It's cheaper than AC and I do feel like it's good to recycle the air as much as ...

Everyone talks about how they travel the world. Some of us do and some don't. I haven't done that much world traveling yet but I'm so glad I have friends that do. One friend is currently in Cape Town who I just Skyped with just to say hi. I haven't talked to her in a while so I just wanted to touch bases. She is so happy there, working towards helping people while enjoying parts of the world that I've only seen in movies. Hearing my friends out traveling makes me even more motivated to find a job and explore some place new. I want to get moving. I'm a pretty good person at adapting, so where ever I move will probably be awesome, but even if it isn't I hope I move quickly from there. Being "stuck" in one place because you're not willing to move is not a good excuse to stay where you are. I want to move somewhere I can have a garden to grow plants that don't just live in pots. I want a living room and  a dining room, there are few times w...

My thoughts feel very scattered and emotional these days. Not necessarily all bad or all good, just a combination of a lot of thoughts going through my head. Like bumper cars, you aim for a target but you're almost  guaranteed to get hit by someone on the way which distracts you from your target and ultimately you wind up forgetting the first target and move to another. That many thoughts make me zone out a lot, I mean who hasn't felt that way at one point? What's even funnier to me, is when someone asks how I'm doing in these cases and I'll say good or fine or whatever and automatically that's somehow code for "I'm not ok". Every time I talk with friends about this feeling though, it seems to be the same: they're zoning out, trying to sort all the stuff in their head out, so a response like "good" or "fine", if anything, is code for "can't talk, trying to sort out my brain". And yes, sometimes it's good to...

It's not the greatest feeling there is; trying or wanting to help someone that just doesn't want your help. It doesn't have to be help either, just the situation of someone you know you can assist in some way but stuck because they won't have any of it. Being the youngest of three I have definitely been on the "I don't want your help" side A LOT to "prove" to my siblings (and the world!..heh) that I can do something and I'm just as smart. Each year I get older, a little more mature, and am still surprised by the things I learn about myself, even if I thought I knew them already. These days while I search for a big girl job in the even larger scary world, I find myself asking those that have already been there. These people have succeeded in their careers and their goals, or are on the path to, so I know the advise they give me is worth listening to. It's a little like a group project or a research paper. In a group, most of the time, ...

It's Monday, a new week, and so far so good. Remember during the rainy season? Those overcast days? They give a sort of comfort; a perfectly logical reason to stay inside and be cozy. I love them since my interests exist both for outdoor and indoor activities. This is my second summer in WV and it's sort of funny that I'm still experiencing these types of days. The whole day has been overcast but it's about 80 degrees outside. It hasn't rained yet but the clouds look on the edge of dumping bucketfuls. I plan to make hot tea and do some knitting. I did some grading earlier, and if I do more work later today I'll work on other stuff. I've been a TA for two years and I'm pretty over the whole job. It wears you out if you're not looking to be a teacher as a career path. Last night talking with John and another friend who came for dinner; they asked why don't you just give everyone 10/10's and be done with it? Well it's tempting, very tempt...

Sunday sunday...A day of rest, for some. I began with a G+ hangout with some family which was nice. Woke up, made coffee, and hung out with my mom and sister as if we were all actually together. After catching up each of us came back to reality of where we were again. For me, that meant eating breakfast and figuring out what to do today. First off was picking up newspapers for the sunday coupons; as a mathy/statistician person it's actually a fun game to see how much money can be saved using coupons. Remember, they just want you to think something is worth the higher price...but there are ways to get it cheaper (sometimes). Second trip of the day was to Micheal's where John and I went searching for stamp making supplies. The women we asked for help apparently didn't know the store very well. See, the rubber used in stamp making is not located in the stamping aisle, it's actually located in the artists supplies aisle, who knew right? So we found what we wanted, now...

Today has been awesome. I woke up, made coffee and headed off to a morning date at the farmer's market where John and I bought some fresh veggies. Then it was back home for some breakfast. The next adventure was going for a bike ride, about 12 miles. Not very tough because it was all level, but still great to get out and breath some fresh air. We actually rode past a deer who just stared at us while we rode by. I stopped ahead of it to go back and take a picture but I didn't get a very good one. You can kind of see the rump (brown part in the center) of the deer and a little bit of its head. When I tried to get closer for a better picture the deer went running off. After the bike ride it was back home again to relax some and chill out for the rest of the day. All in all it was a pretty great day. Hopefully this summer will be filled with more adventures like today =)

I have had allergies since I was a little kid. They are the hay fever type, so many different pollens from trees, shrubbery, and other flowery plants send my body's system into attack! mode almost instantly. I grew up in California where for eighteen years it was unknown to me that a nose had any other purpose than to drive me nuts and be a bump on my face. Breath through it you say? Well if I could have I would have. I tried the over the counter stuff. I saw my regular doctor about prescribing something to help. I then went to see a doctor specializing in allergies. He prescribed me some more stuff: nose spray, daily pills, eye drops, and inhaler. There are three different nose sprays, all have a different purpose. There are different daily pills (mainly Claritin, Zyrtec, and Allegra) ALL of which I have tried at one point or another. There is of course Benadryl which I resort to only when desperately needed and at night time (if I can help it, we all know Benadryl knocks you out ...

Soo, John and I recently went on a drive to check out bikes. We didn't get one, just browsing, but on our way out of the parking lot we saw some canadian geese. Then, John notices some grey fluffy things in the grass and they were baby geese! They were so cute and I had my camera so I snapped some pictures. Nom nom nom on the grass  All these guys had adult supervision of course, though I'm not sure how many were moms and how many were the dads protecting. Keeping a lookout  This one above was smaller and much younger than the ones below. It was cool to see the groups together at obvious different ages =) These were the bigger babies that look more like dinosaurs  We watched them for a couple minutes and I kept seeing the babies plop down in the grass after munching. My guess is their legs aren't strong and built up yet, so they tire out more quickly than their parents.  Here's one of the geese that took notice of us. I call this picture "mama...

Well, I graduate tomorrow, should be fun although I'll wake up earlier than I have in a while. With the help of some coffee that shouldn't be an issue, coffee and a good breakfast. I feel like the biggest task in the morning will be doing my hair. I'll have to wear the silly cap every graduating student wears, but since I have longer hair I can do it so that my hair looks good even with the cap on (hopefully). On a completely separate note, I have a pretty long list of 'to-dos' and 'things to shop for', and one of them is to find a new knitting project as I've finished my most recent one. I'd really like to learn how to make socks but that will require me to get help from someone more experienced. This is entirely possible, just a matter of deciding what day to go and then actually going. Most yarn stores are run by people that know how to knit (and crochet), and the one I'm thinking of does do classes. I'm not sure this shop will offer a s...